May 2005

Boost for rural breast screening

Women living in country Victoria will now have access to state-of-the-art cancer technology, thanks to a $1.9 million Government grant.

The funding will go to BreastScreen Victoria’s Regional Digital Mammography Project, which will see women across country Victoria gain access to the latest technology in mammography imaging.

The funding was announced by Minister for Information and Communication Technology Marsha Thomson and Minister for Health Bronwyn Pike.

The project will replace existing analog mammography systems with digital mammography on the rural mobile van, turning hard copy images into data.

This data can be manipulated, processed and transferred by email for diagnosis.

‘The new technology will allow for hard copy x-rays to be turned into digital data files,’ Ms Thomson said.

‘Digital images will be transmitted to medical specialists, allowing for faster results.

‘This means women living in country Victoria will have access to high quality cancer screening services.

BreastScreen Victoria, which screened almost 200,000 women across the State last year, has been joined in the project by Telstra Country Wide, Multimedia Victoria, the Department of Human Services, Loddon Mallee Health Alliance and Grampians Rural Health Alliance Network.

Ms Pike said the Government was working to build a better future for Victorian women living in regional areas.

‘We are turning around our country health system, ensuring country people get the support they need right in their local community,’ Ms Pike said.

‘Regular, two-yearly breast screening is the best way to tackle breast cancer and the new funding will make a tremendous difference to the lives of thousands of rural Victorian women.’